The practice of effective inter-professional collaboration

Inter-professional collaboration (IPC) has been gaining more attention in recent years. While calls for more and better IPC grew louder, the question remains open what IPC means in concrete terms for acting professionals in practice. A study commissioned by the SAMS provides guidance.

Recommendations for the acquisition of basic knowledge of the Latin language

In 2014 the Swiss Academies of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAHS) presented recommendations on the offer and acquisition of Latin language competences at Swiss universities. It concluded that the implementation of the recommendations could best be achieved by defining minimal competences that the students should have after the completion of a basic course in Latin. Therefore, a task force was assigned to develop the present report. pdf (in German)

The general aim of this competence framework is to provide recommendations for basic competences and knowledge of Latin grammar and of text comprehension, which should be part of Latin language teaching at universities. These basic competences should help students to independently deal with Latin texts in the original language by using subject-specific aids and to use them for their scientific work.

Utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge in academic research. A good practice guide for access and benefit-sharing

This guide informs the academic community – researchers and research managers alike – about the system that governs access to genetic resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge and the sharing of the benefits arising from their use, as established by the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol. Along Art. 20.1 the brochure explains the steps that researchers must take when accessing biological resources for research purposes and it informs about the Agreement on Access and Benefit-sharing for Academic Research (ABS) legislation in Switzerland.

Agreement on Access and Benefit-sharing for Academic Research: A toolbox for drafting Mutually Agreed Terms for access to Genetic Resources and to Associated Traditional Knowledge and Benefit-sharing

This manual contains a set of model clauses from negotiations of Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS) contracts that enables users and providers of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge to set up a contract that is adapted to the individual academic research situation. If mutually negotiated and agreed upon by the involved partners it can yield a “Mutually Agreed Terms” ABS contract. The manual provides sectoral model contractual clauses for academic research in the sense of Article 19.1 of the Nagoya Protocol.

Assessment of quality and performance in the humanities and social sciences: principles, approaches and practices

Synthesis report and statements from professional associations of the SAHSThe idea of measuring has, in brief, given way to the idea of self-assurance. Convinced that scientific everyday work is accompanied by permanent assessment, the primarily task is transparency and systematic approach. Expert groups should contribute to a critical and constructive debate in order to preserve the interpretation sovereignty over their own practice and their quality definition.

Marriage and partnership between standard and reality

The conference «Marriage and partnership between standard and reality» aimed to gather the experiences of various humanities and social science disciplines about law and reality of partner relationships in Switzerland. The now available report should help to promote the interdisciplinary dialogue on the future of this key element of family law.

Engaging politics with science

The provision of scientific policy advice opened up an important work area for the European Academies during the last few years. A new report presents experiences and recommendations from more than twenty years of practice of three dialogue platforms of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT).

Health literacy in Switzerland - status and prospects

«Health literacy» is defined as the ability to orient oneself in the health care system, to understand the physician or to interpret disease symptoms properly. The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences have gathered information about status and prospects of health literacy in Switzerland.

The seventh volume of the publication series «National lexicons» of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAGW) looks at the Fototeca of the Centro di dialettologia e di etnografia (CDE) of Bellinzona. Roland Hochstrasser discusses the institutional development of the CDE, charts the digitisation methods of the collections of the Centro and presents to the readership the iconographic heritage of the CDE.

Promotion of humanities for 2017–2020

The recommendations regarding the promotion of humanities aim at identifying and developing qualitative interdependencies and expedient measures accepted by the community in order to strengthen the humanities.

STEM junior scientific staff barometer Switzerland

The skills shortage that has already existed for quite some time suggests that not enough young people are interested in the STEM subjects (sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics) and therefore neither chose a profession or studies in these areas. The question arises: Where and how is the interest in engineering and natural sciences promoted - or not? Girls feel considerably less supported in engineering, for example, than boys. This emanates from the study «MINT-Nachwuchsbarometer Schweiz» of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences.

A future for the historic transportation landscape Gotthard

This report comprises the presentations made at the symposium «A future for the historic transportation landscape Gotthard» on 6 and 7 September 2013. The symposium again highlighted the relevance of international transport and transit axes. Many research questions concering the mountain region arise not only at the local level, but require an international and interdisciplinary approach.

Offer and acquaintance of linguistic competence in Latin

Recently, the requirement of Latin for studies in the Humanities at Swiss universities has been under discussion. Individual universities or faculties declared themselves in favour or against maintaining the qualification in Latin, others will still have face this question. The present recommendations are not to be positioned in a rigid setting of pros and cons. Rather, they pursue an approach that aims at facilitating students to obtain linguistic competence in Latin according to the requirements of the different disciplines.

Promotion of the humanities in Switzerland

At the turn of the millennium, the Federal Council tasked a working group with defining a set of guidelines for the promotion of the humanities and social sciences. The Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences (SAHS) also addressed the problems of the humanities in a research environment increasingly oriented towards large-scale projects and an interdisciplinary approach. This baseline report examines whether the working group's recommendations have been implemented, and how the situation in the humanities looks today.

Plea for a national education strategy

In order to ensure coordination of the actions of the various players from a wide range of different fields, and to guarantee consistent development in the education system, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences proposed the preparation of a national education strategy under the leadership of the Federal Council and the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK). Such flexible strategic specifications can and should be used as a reference document for ongoing social debate about the education system, which is so vital in a democracy.

Strengthening health services research in Switzerland

Health services research examines how people can achieve optimal access to appropriate medical services, how these services can be designed as efficiently as possible and the effect they ultimately have on the patient. In January 2013, the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMS) was requested by the Federal Office of Public Health to prepare a paper on «Health services research in Switzerland» as part of the Primary Care Master Plan.